Recently, an organization I am a part of, the Honors Student Board, requested Shy of a Dozen, a men’s a capella group on campus, to perform a one-hour set for Honors students.

I understood there would likely be a cost associated with this performance but was shocked to learn the group charges a rate of $1,000 an hour. This feels like an absurdly large amount of money for a student group at Iowa State to be taking in.

Members of Shy of a Dozen also earn academic credit for their participation. Why would students at Iowa State need to be paid $1,000 per performance? Are the members being paid? If so, this must violate some terms relating to academic credit and income from that academic credit.

My main concern is that the group charges this amount for fellow student groups to request its services. I’ve always thought of Iowa State as a collaborative environment where student groups work together to provide diverse, rich experiences for their members. Charging a large sum for a Shy of a Dozen performance hurts the collaborative spirit of Iowa State.

I ask that Shy of a Dozen reconsiders its charge for student groups and provides some perspective on where the money it receives is allocated.